skip to main content

Cacti & Succulents

Night blooming Cereus

17 years ago

I have a young one of these plants. Last summer it had one flower which I missed (sob) and a number of buds started and then dried up. My question: Is it necessary to have lots of heat for these plants to flower? The buds developed when I was away and had closed up the atrium that they were in so the temps would have been extremely high. When I came home and brought the temps down by opening windows, the new buds stalled. This winter it has been getting leggier and lanker and it needs to have lots of flowers to earn its keep. Any other NBC owners out there?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

hortusme
17 years ago
I cant attest to owning/growing Night-Blooming Cereus, but temperature isn't nearly as important as light.

* Indoors and out, the temp shouldn't drop below 5ÂºC (41ÂºF) in winter. Winter is its rest-period/dormancy. Cold and wet roots in winter spell it's demise. Allow to dry out between waterings.

* Best performance is achieved when grown in full sun. Indoors it should be placed preferably in/near a southern window. Extra light in early spring will stimulate budding.

* Temperature doesn't promote bud formation. Daylength signals chemicals in the plant to begin production of flower buds. If it flowers, it will be in late spring or early summer.

* Keeping the plant rootbound in a small (* Potting mix should be sterile compost (MiracleGro, Hyponex, etc are suitable).

* In summer during active growth keep well-watered and apply a complete water-soluble fertilizer.

Best of luck!
dottyinduncan
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for the response. It is growing in a hanging pot in an atrium with skylights. I used a sphagum moss and it seems to love it. It seems each day it is putting out more growth and the branches are up to 30 inches long! It's quite ugly so I'm wondering how I'll be able to handle the darned thing when it gets a bit older. I'm certainly going to keep it this summer to hope that I get some flowers. I was devastated to be away when it flowered last year.
Related Discussions
Night blooming cereus cutting
Q
Comments (28)
Hi all; I inherited my mother's night-blooming cereus, which was my grandmother's before that. It's bloomed the last 2 years, but no buds yet this year. However, the horrendous winter, lingering cold and late spring here in the NE meant that it didn't come out site until mode June or later. Still checking every day. Sigh. It does have some new leaves, which appear as tiny red leaves growing off the edge of an existing leaf - which is similar to the way it buds, but so far they all look like tiny red leaves wit yellow tips. I've been lightly feeding it with a very dilute solution of a water-sol fertilizer, 10-30-20 (dilute as those numbers seemed high.) Should I bump up the fertilizer? Or leave it alone? So, two questions: 1) Looks very healthy (besides the non-budding) but It does has some old leaves which have turned yellow or weirdly pink. Wondering if its ok ago trim them off..? And - 1) Is possible that the small new red leaves, growing from the margin of a green leaf, are the beginning of a bud? TIA. I do love this gangly plant, both for reminding me of my grandma's sunporch, and for its weird beauty.
...See More
Night blooming Cereus question
Q
Comments (17)
Peteray, I just read somewhere that your plant is a Dragonfruit plant. Geeky Gardener - let me know what you found out about the buds dropping off. I had the same problem. I currently have a Night Blooming Cereus with buds. 3 weeks ago, I had about 11 buds. Concerned about the sun burning my plant, I moved it to another spot - partial shade. The large buds are doing fine, but the 4 of my little ones fell off. I was so upset about this. I moved it back to it's old spot. I also gets deer in my yard and I wondered if they nudged it???
...See More
Night blooming cereus blooms in the daytime!!
Q
Comments (28)
Wantonamara, Very nice! My poor plant has not had a very good plant mom. It has been a hot dry summer and the watering wasn't very regular. It had such long arms, that I had it up on a plant support and it kept getting blown over in the wind. I do have several more cuttings now, LOL. It has bloomed several times, but always at night. I hope that the heavy clay pot stops it from falling. I will have to try the fertilizer once a week. I feed my violet with weak strength every time I water, but never thought of doing that for the cereus. (Yes, I know it is E.... O..... I can spell cereus!) I just got it moved into the greenhouse a couple of days ago. I think I will just leave it there next year and try to shade the greenhouse. It is under trees, so that helps.
...See More
Night Blooming Cereus Propogation
Q
Comments (1)
The down side (just like it was on the plant: don't reverse the polarity of the cutting) goes into the soil. IMO, cut off the side branches and after callousing stick in soil. The long leaf- hum... I guess I would cut it into pieces say 6 inches or less.
...See More
epiforums
17 years ago
A hanging pot? That's going to be tough as it keeps growing. These things can grow pretty tall, as they are epiphytic in nature (attach themselves to grow up the sides of trees). I will say that lighting has a huge effect on the budding/blooming process. Plants that are nice and lush dark green, don't bloom as well as the ones that are put out in the sun, and stressed until the branches are lighter green (sometimes yellow in color). But keep an eye on it, and don't let the branches get sunburned and crispy.
One of the theories is that as the plant is stressed, it goes into self preservation, and tries to bloom, or reproduce itself. So far it has worked well for me.

Related Stories

LANDSCAPE DESIGN All-White Gardens Light Up the Night

Lustrous blooms in white, cream and the palest ivory enchant in the landscape at night — and can be practical too

GARDENING GUIDES Top 12 Summer-Blooming Perennials for Deer-Resistant Drama

Can you have garden color, fragrance and exciting foliage with hungry deer afoot? These beauties say yes

HOUSEPLANTS How to Force Amaryllis Bulbs Indoors

By creative jewish mom.com

Enjoy vibrant red blossoms even as gardens turn snowy white, by teaching this hardy repeat performer to ignore the calendar

HOUSEPLANTS Orchids 101: How to Keep Your Moth Orchids Alive and Blooming

By Marianne Lipanovich

Growing Phalaenopsis — and getting it to flower again — is easier than you might think

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Try Blue Bells for Blooms in Dry Soil

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

This shrub’s violet-blue flowers and silvery foliage brighten low-water gardens all year long

HOUSEPLANTS Get Spring-Like Hyacinth Blooms All Winter Long

By creative jewish mom.com

Try one of these forcing methods for cheery, colorful flowers to brighten wintry days

MOST POPULAR Spring Gardens Are Blooming — Here’s What to Do in April

By Annie Thornton

Get the guide you need for gardening in your U.S. region, with tasks, climate-appropriate plantings and more

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Garden Tour: A Colorful Patio Blooms in the Arizona Desert

By Vanessa Brunner

A landscape designer transforms a couple's backyard patio into a feature-packed oasis

PATIO OF THE WEEK 3 Microclimates and Countless Blooms

By Becky Harris

A trio of outdoor rooms plus a porch swing, exuberant plantings and plenty of seating make this Massachusetts yard ready to entertain

GARDENING GUIDES Glorious Purple Blooms Bring a Crowning Touch to Gardens

Royally beautiful but mingling well with the masses, plants with purple flowers or foliage are worthy of homage in any garden

Sponsored

More Discussions

Why are there brown blotches on my Euphorbia anoplia

0

Can I trim this plant?

1

21 year old Jade Plant 4ft tall Pruning Repotting Questions Concerns

3

Easter Cacti in bloom

4

Euphorbia disease advice?

3